


Twenty Questions

by merrabeth



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Character Study, M/M, kinda sad when you think about it, one major spoiler but that's it, set between 4x08 and 4x09 i guess, very little spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-16
Updated: 2014-03-16
Packaged: 2018-01-15 22:23:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1321399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merrabeth/pseuds/merrabeth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So, I guess I made as if Mickey's been with the Gallaghers for a few days now. Mickey wants to figure out what's going on with Ian.<br/>He shall find out in the form of a game made for 13 year old girls: 20 Questions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Twenty Questions

“Or we could just stay in here for a few hours…” Mickey suggested in a rush as Ian walked towards his bedroom door. He couldn’t help the look of confusion that must have been so obviously sprawled in his features. Mickey’s reaction was to stare back while chewing on his bottom lip. “What?” he persisted when Ian’s expression didn’t change.

Ian leaned against the closed door and his arms folded, studying Mickey sitting on the edge of his bed with little mess to his bed hair. It was a sight he still hadn’t gotten used to even though he’s been seeing it almost every morning now. He shook his head and shrugged, walking back to sit next to Ian. “You’ve just been actin’ different lately,” Ian stated.

Mickey smirked, not to his own accord. “I could say the same about you.”

Ian shrugged again, using the palms of his hands to scoot himself further onto the bed and leaned back against the headboard. Mickey followed, leaning back against the wall. They remained quiet, looking at each other and sizing each other up lazily. Mickey sighed. “I don’t know how much you remember of that night,” he started, his voice thicker than he expected. “but I suggested we catch up on things, you know, since you left.”

Ian nodded slowly, knowing exactly what Mickey was talking about. He could feel his blood rushing, making the room seem hotter than it actually was. “How about we do one step better? 20 questions.”

“Alright,” Mickey replied, never taking his eyes off the red head. “I’ll start: Where have you been? Be specific.”

“Well, I went to the army, first. But I couldn’t take it, you know? Getting up at the ass crack of dawn and doing suicides and all this other shit and _all the fucking yelling_! Holy fuck, I thought I was used to noise until I got there. Someone always in my face yelling at me to go faster or if I understood, like, yes fucking _sir_! I heard you the first fucking 30 times you told me.” He stopped, letting himself relive the past few weeks of utter torture. “And fuck me if you did one little mistake. How the fuck am I supposed to react when I get a whistle in my ear and someone chasing me at 2 in the morning?”

Mickey could see a darkness cloud over his eyes as if Ian wasn’t there, but back at the base, getting yelled at. He nudged his foot at Ian’s leg and his eyes met Mickey’s again, blinking and seeing him again. He continued. “Anyway, so I did some stupid shit and left. I’d went to Ned’s house, you know, the old doctor I dated. Yeah, well after a few nights he kicked me out. I found Monica, stayed with her for while and got a job at _White Swallow_ as a bartender. Then my manager moved me to _Fairytale_ and they had me dancing there. I adjusted quickly; turns out a lotta guys like me; or maybe I’m just that good, I don’t know. But yeah; you know the rest.”

“Yeah, I do.”

“Ok, my turn. How’s life for the _newlyweds_?” Mickey grimaced at the sharp sting of the last word, and took in the eyebrow raise from Ian.

He took some time to think. He couldn’t just blurt out what he thought. _It’s been shit_. But by the looks of that smug look on Gallagher’s face, he could tell he was hoping Mickey’s answer would be just that. He saw Mickey didn’t even wanna be there while the bitch gave birth. “I’m her pimp, now.”

“What the fuck does that mean?” Ian adjusted himself so he sat up straighter, kind of intrigued by Mickey’s answer.

“No, fuck off. It’s my turn.”

“But all you sai-“

“You never made it clear that I had to be specific. So, it’s my fucking turn.” He crossed his legs and leaned forward; trying to make sure he asked the question without being so obvious. “So, you doing drugs…is that like something that happens regularly?”

Ian shrugged. “Yeah, I mean, most nights. If the guy doesn’t have enough money, they have other ways of paying.”

Mickey scrunched his face, confused and enraged by that logic. “How the fuck do they not have enough money when they have drugs?”

Ian shrugged again. “What did you mean by pimp?”

“They weren’t paying her enough at that shit spa place so I got pissed and took all the whores with me. They currently work at The Alibi now.” He saw Ian open his mouth to add something, but he didn’t break a beat. “Do guys usually try to take you home?”

This was what Ian was talking about. He was used to a few questions from Mickey, and they usually came with a shit ton of judgment. Mickey isn’t one to play so well by rules of a game, and the fact that Mickey was doing exactly that was making his stomach do flips. “Why do you care?” Ian asked, somewhere in between being defensive and trying to pry something out of Mickey but he wasn’t really sure what.

“Answer the question.” Mickey’s voice was even, as if he wasn’t just provoked.

“But do I have to?”

“Ian.”

It was silent, back to their silent competition of who could out-stare the other. And Ian was pretty sure they haven’t stared at each other for so long before. But being under those blue eyes’ vision didn’t feel necessarily bad. It was a warm feeling, a type of warmth he hadn’t felt in-shit- maybe his whole life. But having Mickey look at him, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to answer. He wasn’t sure if he was so hesitant to answer on Mickey’s behalf, or embarrassment for himself. “Sometimes,” he answered through tight lips. He quickly added, “Most nights I could get home fine; that’s why I had the taxi company on speed dial, just in case I wasn’t in the best state. But some nights…”

Mickey leaned back, breathing out a humorless laugh. “Un-fucking-believable. Well, not that unbelievable. When you’re as coked out as you were when I had came to get you, it’s not that hard to believe.”

Ian smiled with raised eyebrows. Some things never changed, it seemed. “Well, it’s my turn.” He moved from his spot, crawling the short distance of the bed to Mickey and leaned in so close that they shared the same air. “Did you miss me?” Ian whispered.

Mickey licked his lips before he answered. “Yeah,” he answered, staring at his legs.

“Why? Because I wasn’t here to fuck you whenever you wanted?”

Well, fucking _ouch_. Mickey flinched away from Ian’s words. Ian used his fingertips to guide Mickey’s face to meet his. And if Ian hadn’t made that comment, Mickey would have let the kiss that had begun to continue on. But they were fucking playing a fucking game and Mickey wasn’t done asking questions.

Pulling away slowly, he kept his face in Ian’s grasp. “What the fuck did you mean at the party? What the fuck did you mean right now?”

Ian only shrugged for an answer, wanting their lips together. “What did you mean by ‘together’, huh?” He made a string of kissed down Mickey’s jaw to his neck when he’d moved his lips away. “You’re tryna claim me now, or something?”

“We’re still playing,” Mickey reminded, grabbing Ian’s shoulders and pushing him away. “Plus, this was your idea.”

Ian sighed heavily and sat back up, resting his temple on the wall. “When I left, I was in a bad place. But I’ve met people, Mick. And I’ve found a place where I can be a better me, a _newer_ me; a me that can be comfortable and be around people that’re comfortable. It’s exhilarating. I mean, you felt it, too, right? Being able to just let go and know for a fact that you don’t stick out like a sore thumb? Being in a place where you don’t have to listen to what anyone says or let anyone run your life?”

Mickey stared. It didn’t sound so bad, after all. Ian was right: it _did_ feel good to be able to do what he really wanted. But that didn’t change the fact that what he did put himself at risk on a daily basis. His job, and not seeming to care that things were happening and he probably wasn’t aware of it.

“I’m a new person, Mick.”

There it was again. That _new person_ spiel. Ian was right on that front, too. He could see it, even when they were talking at this moment, even as he stared into those green eyes that he’d been thinking about for months, even as things were seemingly normal, Mickey could feel something under the surface, something banging that made his stomach twist into tight knots. Because even now, this Ian wasn’t the Ian he’d spent the last three years with. Even the day Ian had left, to some extent, it was his original self.

Though on the surface, with the smile on his face and the amount of hope brightening his eyes, Ian looked way too dark. And the spark in his eyes looked a little mental.

“My turn,” Ian started. “Can we fuck now? Ever since I came back, we never did pick up where we left off, you know.” He grinned, the seemingly normal-Ian grin that Mickey found annoyingly contagious. He grabbed the back of Mickey’s neck, bringing their lips together again, this time with more force, and Mickey didn’t refuse. His hand trailed up Ian’s bicep, stopping at Ian’s jaw.

Gasping for air, Mickey furrowed his brows and breathed, “Ian, you need help.”

“Getting my clothes off? Yeah, I could use some help with that?” He resumed their kissing, pushing Mickey down on his back. Mickey’s hand found its way up the back of Ian’s head and combed his fingers through his hair. He held onto Ian tightly, not wanting his Ian to leave him.

**Author's Note:**

> hey if you wanna find me on tumblr, i'm at merrabeth.tumblr.com it's really simple, i know,


End file.
